Spooney’s in Lahinch is little sister to Vaughan’s Anchor Inn in Liscannor and Vaughan’s on The Prom — a casual seaside spot for hot fish and chips and cold ice cream.
This may seem simple and straightforward, but Spooney’s brings the same attention to detail to everything they do as Vaughan’s always has — using locally landed fish, and chips made from the finest local spuds, with exceptional ice cream made from milk from cows they know personally. Spooney’s call their ice cream ‘cow to cone’ and it is truly as local and sustainable as possible. There’s quality coffee and freshly made churros and doughnuts too, with everything available to eat in or take away.
Denis Vaughan heads up the kitchen team here and upstairs in Vaughan’s on the Prom, together with his second son Denis Jnr., while his eldest son, James, runs the kitchen in Vaughan’s Anchor Inn in Liscannor. The family aspect of the business is emphasised by the name, with Spooney’s called after Denis’s late brother John, whose nickname it was. John, who sadly passed away in January 2017, was a fanatical football fan and Manchester United supporter, known locally as a founding member of Moher Celtic FC. He was a keen collector of autographed jerseys, many of which can be seen on the walls of Spooney’s.
Spooney’s ice cream is extra-creamy and luscious. Every morning, Denis, the second generation of Vaughans in the business, collects the fresh milk from neighbouring Lacey’s farm in Liscannor. It’s pasteurised in Vaughan’s Anchor Inn and then churned in-house in Lahinch to make their premium ice cream from scratch every day, from cow to cone. Flavours change regularly, depending on the season, and there’s cones and wafer baskets, sorbets and milkshakes too, as well as an impressive array of Super Sundaes, with every topping imaginable.
The fish is landed locally, before being filleted and freshly battered in-house, with the secret to Spooney’s deliciously crisp batter lying in chef-proprietor Denis Vaughan’s treasured 22-year old sourdough starter, and served with homemade tartare sauce. The proper homemade chips use potatoes grown nearby, peeled and cut in house, then cooked in beef dripping for a traditional, old-school flavour.
And the coffee is quality, by Sunday Collab, a French company that blends surf, beach and art that’s deeply committed to the protection of the environment. Their coffee comes from direct relationships and fair trade with farmers, and as ocean is a source of inspiration for Sunday Collab (as it is for Spooney’s and Vaughan’s), a percentage goes to support clean oceans and the Surfrider Foundation.
If you’re on the beach for the day or staying nearby, or if Lahinch is on your way to somewhere further afield, Spooney’s is your perfect go-to pit-stop for great fish and chips, ice-cream, and coffee by the sea this summer.
